The Unofficial Blogger of the Chicago Cubs in Canada

Cubs Win Fourth Straight. Bryant Sets Franchise Record

I don’t know what it is about the Atlanta Braves that I find so unappealing. I guess there’s one team that every sports fan doesn’t like. In the NFL, it’s the New England Patriots and in the NHL, it’s the Anaheim Ducks. So, it gives me great pleasure to see Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs defeat the Braves 6-2 but most importantly, Kris Bryant is now the first Chicago Cub to hit 25 homers in his first three seasons.

“He’s been playing through all kinds of nagging injuries,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Bryant, who has dealt with ankle, wrist and hand injuries this season. “Give him credit. He’s an everyday player and he comes to play. Even if there’s no hits on a particular day, there’s been good defense, great base running, all the other stuff he can do to help you win a baseball game. That ball was really killed [for his homer] — that wind was firm.”

That’s the kind of player Bryant is. He plays through the pain and has quietly become a co leader with Anthony Rizzo to be the faces of the team.

The thing that was so impressive with the victory was that the Cubs didn’t feel like they were playing their best ball. Take Hendricks for instance, his last victory was that 17-2 shredding of the Phillies, but last night he felt a little “Weird”

“From the start today it was one of those days,” Hendricks said. “Uncomfortable. Felt weird. Command was terrible. My timing was off. I wasn’t staying over the rubber well. Today really the guys just made the plays behind me and scored enough runs.”

That’s what the game is about too. Sometimes it’s the pitcher doing all the work and other times it’s the team backing them up or in the rare cases, it’s both working together to pull out perfection. One of the cool things that Hendricks has in his repertoire is his ability to throw to first. He’s quick and accurate. I like that a lot about his style.

“He’s one of those guys who’s able to hold the ball and throw accurately to first base with quick feet,” Maddon said. “It might sound simple, but it’s not. It’s hard to get pitchers to hold the baseball sometimes.”

The Cubs are in a good spot right now with their fourth straight victory. Will we see the Champs cruise to another World Series?